THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Lord, not too many TV shows catch my attention, but I’m amazed about home makeover programs. Groups of highly skilled workers take an old, worn-down house needing demolishment, and instead, turn the structure into a Taj Mahal. What once was the neighborhood eyesore is now the neighborhood’s show piece. What once made folks cringe now makes them say, “I can’t believe it!” And to think they wanted to destroy what others saw as having potential.

The before and after pictures leave me shaking my head. Living rooms that resembled a pig pen now rival that of the Hyatt lobby. Kitchens sinks and countertops scattered with dirty dishes that sat for decades now pass the white glove test. Ovens that couldn’t cook a paper towel are replaced with state-of-the-art Smart Double Electric self-cleaning wall ovens with built-in microwave. A 25 cubic feet smart refrigerator with French doors and built-in coffee maker and ice dispenser replaces the old refrigerator that couldn’t keep a snow cone cool. Floors used for a dirt bike track are clean as polished marble.

No wonder people are amazed. It’s a completely different house. The old house may be remembered, but it is now long gone. All that rubbish has been hauled away, buried in a landfill. Ten thousand years from now archeologists will consider these artifacts priceless. But now, the new and improved is here.

Lord, we can say this home makeover demonstrates 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Christ followers agree that after committing ourselves to you, Jesus, we’re changed. We don’t know how you do it, but we are changed on the inside. All that junk on the inside is gone, replaced with your love that will take a lifetime to know the extent of its richness. And being changed on the inside changes us on the outside too. We just look different now. And people notice.

Only you can do this makeover of old lives into new, Jesus. Amen.